Breaker Morant and First World War Author

Times Obituary Sir Frank Fox

Sir Frank Fox, O.B.E., a well known and very popular ﬁgure in Fleet Street in the early part of the century, died on Thursday at the age of 85.
He was a man of strikingly handsome appearance and of great enthusiasms. He had two great interests which surpassed all others: the British Empire and the Morning Post. He lived to see the British Empire of which he was intensely proud, blossom into the British Commonwealth of Nations and to see the Morning Post merged with the Daily Telegraph.
Born in Adelaide on August 12, 1874, he was educated at Christ’s College, Hobart, before entering journalism.
At the age of 18 he ws entrusted by the Australian Labour Party with the editorship of its periodical the Australian Workman. At 21 he was editing the National Advocate and championing the cause of Australian Federation. He joined the staff of the Sydney Bulletin, was acting editor for a time, and later founded and edited the Lone Hand.
He ﬁrst came to London in 1909 and both in print and on the public platform he stressed the danger of a war in Europe. His views and those of the Morning Post were in accord and he accepted an invitation to join the staff, doing admirable work as its correspondent with the Bulgarian Army in the Balkan War.
During the ﬁrst months of the 1914-18 War he represented his newspaper with the Belgian Army, but in December, 1914 he joined the Royal Field Artillery and was twice wounded during the Battle of the Somme. Thereafter he served on the Quarter-Master General’s staff in France and on the General Staff at the War Office with the rsnk of major, On dernobilization he returned to his old love, journalism and championed many deserving Empire causes.
He organized the Empire Rheumatism Council and the British Empire Cancer Campaign in the north-western and northern counties and one achievement of which he was particularly proud was the creation of the Fellowship of the British Empire Exhibition which was established in many parts of the World.
He was always a proliﬁc writer and one of his most notable efforts was a history of the Royal Inniskllling Fusiliers in the First World War. He had also some interesting views to express on Anglo-American relations in The Mastery of the Paciﬁc, published in 1928.
He was appointed O.B.E. for his services in the First World War and was knighted in 1926.